I'd be Delighted: Black Swan Cycle
by Syberina5
Summary: A crossover of a sort with some GH characters from a fic I wrote, and lost, long ago.  Life in Oakdale is always full of surprises; how will they change things for Luke, Noah, and the people they love?
1. Chapter 1

Title: I'd be Delighted

Author: Syberin5 or tsarcasm

Author's Notes: This story is part of the Black Swan Cycle (in the Block of Wood 'Verse) which started out as a single story, pit stopped around a trilogy, and blossomed from there to become an AU starting in and around 10/23/2009. While canon for Luke and Noah, I may be messing with things that happened outside their storylines as I didn't watch it [grovels in gratitude at the feet of LukeVanFan]. {WARNING: This story UMBRELLAS!} As such many things seen and unseen become involved. Most of them will do nothing to enhance your enjoyment of the story—like knowing that three or four years prior to the start of action in this story some of the characters waltzed through a GH story I wrote or that in six or seven years after this action ends some of the characters in this story will waltz through a QaF story I'm writing—some of them might. Like the prologuey prequel _Tortuga_. The titles and many of the references come from an old Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara movie called _The Black Swan _which has significance only in my very troubled mind. This is a Work In Progress I have over 60,000 words written but not edited. It is near completion and is, in my opinion, safe to start for it will be finished.

Chapter One

_But I meant what I said about not wanting this to be about my long forgotten—shudder—birth._

"Oh, ho ho. I know where this is going darlings and absolutely not." Lucinda waved around her reading glasses.

Luke rolled his eyes and looked at his mother, her face brighter than usual, if pretty dim for the woman who raised him. The message was still clear: they were a united front. For now.

"Mother, you can't just let this pass you by. It's a huge milestone and we would all like to celebrate it with you."

"Ha. No. If you think I'm going to publicly acknowledge the year I was born you're insane. I love you," she patted Lily's cheeks, "but you will have totally gone round the bend. No. Absolutely not. I have nothing else to say on the matter." She turned her back on them and plopped down in her desk chair.

"Mother…"

"I said no, Lily. This year will be just like every other year. We will celebrate Christmas and the birth of someone," she chortled shortly, "who is older than me. Now scoot. Both of you," Lucinda slid on her glasses, "I have work to do." She tried to be enraptured in the stock projections in front of her but she could feel Luke and Lily fighting something out silently.

Luke looked at his mother, imploring her to just go. Let him try and reason with the old bat on his own. They had always been able to deal best with each other on a blunt level. But Lily wanted to stay, wanted to make Lucinda see that all she had been through in her life was worth celebrating, honoring. Especially after the last year.

It wasn't easy for her to give in to the other two strong wills in the room and she had to practically drag herself out the door, Throwing one last pleading glance at Luke, who tried to look confidently reassuring, she left, closing the door behind her.

"Grandmother."

"Grandson," her tone was mocking, flat, and holding that vague seriousness his had been.

"What if I said that I think you should do this for totally different reasons?"

"I don't intend to make a standing bull's-eye of myself, sorry darling."

"But it's not about you. I mean yeah, Mom has a point you've been through so much, you should be proud of everything you've accomplished in your lifetime—so far," he added at her over-the-glasses glare. "But if it wouldn't be a celebration to you then you shouldn't do it."

"Thank you for your permission." She went back to her paperwork and Luke sighed.

"But she's not asking for you. She asking for her." He paused for the snarky comment Lucinda had waiting in the wings. When she let him continue he took it as a sign she was listening. "She's been through so much with the kidnapping, and Damian and Dad and the dead thing. She's lost all the things she can count on, besides you and me." He made the face he used on her when he was a child and wanted ice cream and cookies. "There's only so much she can do with the foundation and I'm worried. What if she turns to the pills?"

Lucinda took off her glasses, rested her chin on her bent wrist. "You think I haven't realized all that? Luke, baby, I have known her longer and better than you all your life." She sighed and groaned all at once. Her family would be the death of her. "You, my love, are getting too smart and too good at this kind of thing for comfort, you know."

Luke just smiled at her as she leaned back in her large chair. Lucida had every intention of caving.

"We'll do it I just didn't want to give in too easily, you understand. Then she'd think it was pity and get all moopy and sullen and you would see what she was like when she was 15. But I meant what I said about not wanting this to be about my long forgotten—shudder—birth."

"Well then what is the party supposed to be for?"

"Let's make that your job. You come up with something feasible and you can tell your mother you've convinced me. And put some arbitrary stipulations on it that she can argue with me about for the next few weeks. Like all of Worldwide's board has to be there or some outrageous thing."

Lucinda was in her reading glasses and professional demeanor again when Luke wrapped his arms around he shoulders and kissed her cheek. "You always were a special kind of awesome, Grandmother."

"Awesome? Is that on a comeback again? Is tubular too?" He laughed as she pat his hand. "You were always a special kind of awesome too, kid. Right from the moment your parents brought you into this world."

Part of Luke winced. His parents who had been there the day he was born, whose marriage, whose love seemed to finally be over.

He wanted to say something to show just how much her loved her, them, how much he was hurting for the whole family over this situation. Instead he took a page from Noah's book and kissed Lucinda again before leaving.

He was already formulating a perfect reason for Lucinda to agree to a large and lavish party.

"But when was the company actually formed, Luke?" Noah asked, bringing much needed logic to the table. "Wouldn't something like that be written down where most of the board members and shareholders could easily find it?"

Noah watched Luke's face scrunch in the way that made his heart squeeze just a little from the geeky adorability. "Yeah, I guess."

"How about how long Lucinda's been running it?"

"No good," Luke said taking Noah's hand around their dinner plates.

"I thought this had been her company for… a really long time."

It has. But she hasn't run it consistently. There have been hostile takeovers and abdications and blackmailings and God-knows-what-all up the wazoo. My Dad was even an executive there for a while."

"Holden?"

"Yeah, can you imagine? He wore a suit." Noah's face and eyes went wide. "Yeah, everyday."

"Holden? Your father Holden?"

Luke laughed. "I always thought he looked so _dashing_ in his work suits." He scrunched his nose again and smiled. "Maybe that should have been a clue."

They laughed, bodies moving towards each other as if the table wasn't there.

Moments passed with them just lost in each other's eyes.

"So… what are you going to tell your mother?"

"That we should make the party the celebration of Worldwide Industries 54th fiscal year?"

"Which started in November."

"Well that's almost as close as it is to Lucinda's birthday which was Mom's plan so …"

"Yeah and that plan didn't have holes?"

"I'm out of ideas Noah." He rubbed a desperate thumb over Noah's knuckles.

"Well," Noah said, watching Luke's skin run over his own, feeling it in the back of his neck and other places. "Why don't we…" his eyes snapped to Luke's and a grin he couldn't help spread across his face, "sleep on it. Tonight."

Luke's own face split open and he sighed a laugh. "I like the way you think, Mayer." He used the hand he still held as a lead to pull Noah all the way in for a kiss. Lucinda, Lily, and all the Snyder relations were quickly forgotten.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

_We're miscommunicating right and left and we've both been so busy that…. I miss him Grandmother. We live together and I miss him._

"Argue her down."

"Luke, darling, I thought we said you would tell her?"

"No," Luke smiled, enjoying haggling with his grandmother, "you said. And anyway I've done my job. Noah and I came up with a great reason. And it even makes sense calendar wise, kinda. You can say you want it to be a business affair. Mom of course will push for family. Eventually you'll end up doing some hodge-podge of both."

She looked at him all smug and sure and looking too much like a Grimaldi—not that Lucinda was ever smug or over-confident—leaning a hand on her desk and twisting a foot on the floor like the little boy part of him would, God willing, always be. "Yes. Excellent plan. Now tell your mother what we agreed and she'll call me, the debating will," she raised her hands grandiosely, "commence." And dropped them with a graceful thunk.

"She won't believe that. She'll be here in twenty minutes. She walks in on us duking it out, you saying it should be in a few months, me saying it should be sooner. Mom will come down on your side and it'll be settled with enough drama that she won't suspect."

"That we are plotting and planning behind her back to keep her occupied?" Lucinda raised an eyebrow and chuckled. Maybe Luke had enough Walsh to him after all. Just this side of devious. "Let's hope not. Her self-esteem is low enough."

"So," she said changing gears and rising from her desk filled with mountains of work all neatly piled. "What do we do for the next twenty minutes?"

"Honestly?" Luke watched her come around the desk to lean on it beside him. "I didn't expect you to let me win so easily. I thought we'd still be arguing for real when Mom showed up." He shrugged at her and they laughed.

"Well then we'll just have to come up with something." They laughed harder. "But enough of that; if Lily walks in on us… chortling, we're doomed." She breathed and looked at her grandson's handsome face, seeing him as a little boy, a child, and someone who was becoming a man. "Hmm. How is young Noah doing?"

"He's good. Crazy right now with his senior project. It's… complicated but things are extra tense because of his advisor."

"Has he requested a switch?" Lucinda can't help trying to fix whatever problem is laid in front of her, wanting to take up and push until it's done. Never has been, never will be.

Luke grimaced. "Tried that, the new one was horrendous. So he asked to switch back in the interest of the project. And I agree with his decision, it's just been… it's been affecting our relationship."

"Has Noah been bringing a lot of his work home?"

"It's college, he brings it all home. But what I mean is the stress. All the time we spend together lately he's been stressed or I've been stressed. We're miscommunicating right and left and we've both been so busy that…. I miss him Grandmother. We live together and I miss him."

"It happens, darling, really. It's not a sign of the apocalypse. So you've had a lot on your plate with Lily and Holden and Damian. You've been as there for them as you can be and that is commendable; you're a good kid. But you need to be there for yourself too Luke. There for Noah. Living other peoples' lives to the detriment of your own well… it's not good. Trust me, I've done the research," she half-joked bringing a smile to Luke's droopy face. "So make sure Noah knows you're there, that you still feel for him what you always have, even if there aren't enough hours in the day. Because you're a grown up now. There never will be again. And just wait till you have children." Lucinda threw up her hands and turned away to put her glasses down on the desk. "Make you want to add whole extra days to the week just to spend enough time with them and at work to provide for them."

"Grandmother," Luke said, voicing a long niggling worry, meeting Lucinda's eyes. "Do you think I'll have kids?"

"Of course, darling. Why wouldn't you?" She was honestly baffled, concerned. Luke had always been so loving and giving, he would be a great parent.

"I'm gay, Grandmother. Noah. Remember? Neither one of us can get pregnant." _D'uh_, he thought hard at her.

"What on Earth has that got to do with it?" She laughed and took a mockingly defensive stance. "Adoption not good enough for you? Do you have any idea the number of children there are in this world just begging, begging darling, to be loved the way you are, to be a part of a family the way you are? And you wouldn't be without adoption. So don't look down your nose at it. I expect to be made a great-grandmother in my lifetime so don't dawdle." She slapped his hip.

"You already are a great grandmother." He smirked at her and she rubbed his cheek, hooting. "And literally."

"Oh, but not enough baby, never enough."

They laughed and snuggled a bit until a voice broke them out of their moment.

"We'll I'm glad to see you two are getting along."

"Time-in," Luke chimed. "Think about it Grandmother. A celebration of you, your perseverance and health, but not your birthday. We'll make a banner—Mom tell her what an awesome banner it would be—'I kicked Cancer's Ass, _Again!_'"

"Luke," Lily admonished.

Lucinda looked at him over the glasses she wasn't wearing. "That's a little crude there darling, you need to polish up your strategy."

"Oh come on. You've been done with the chemo, the doctors said you were clear, you've gone back to work. It's perfect."

"Yes, but we haven't hit any kind of a remarkable date, darling. Lily, give the kid a calendar for his birthday."

"We don't need one to celebrate your independence."

"My independence, ha. Clever kid. Ok we'll celebrate my independence but not—you hear me, not—now."

"Mother, why on Earth not? Luke's right. That's a great idea. I can get things together at the Lakeview and we can honor you in a few days or next week. I have a couple of openings—"

"Absolutely not, Lily. No. It's too soon. I have lots of engagements right now for Worldwide and Walsh Enterprises and I'm swamped." She chuckled, "More to the point, I'm enjoying being swamped. Can't we have this Godforsaken celebration of my fabulousness later?"

"No, we should do this now," Luke cut in, making sure that he was planted firmly on the other side so his mother would take the middle road. "Give you some time to rest and relax in all this," he waved a hand around at her desk, "swampiedness."

"Ha, no. I don't want any distractions right now. I've got a lot on my plate and really Lily, you can't throw together a decent gala in a week." Lucinda clucked her tongue.

"I'm a Walsh, Mother; I can throw together an amazing soiree with twenty-four's hours notice."

Lucinda laughed because it was true. Enough prestige and money and you could make anything happen.

"Yes, alright. But I've got so much to do Lily. You would not believe the sty these people have been living in. I simply can not give them a reason to celebrate—even if the reason is me—until I've whipped them into shape. And some kind of shape will take weeks. Probably months for some and a lifetime not enough for others," she said with a final, ominous grumble.

"Grandmother, you are working too hard. I know the doctors cleared you to come back full-time, but this is too much."

"Now, Luke it is just enough. I am fair, hale, hardy. Look at my face." And Lily looked, torn—a feeling she was entirely too used to—Lucinda looked rested and calm, even sporting a bit of the competitive glow she got when she had a bone between her teeth. But what if Luke was right and Lucinda was pushing herself. It wouldn't be a first. "Is this the face of a woman who's tired? No."

"Grandmother you always look wonderful, and you do look rested but I worry."

"Luke, you're a young man; the only things you should be worried about is your love life." They could feel Lily waffling and wanted to give her an easy out.

"Well, that's Noah. There are no worries with Noah. So I have to worry about something. Today it's you. I say we do the party ASAP."

"No—"

"No," Lily interrupted, "no, Luke, I think your grandmother's right. She's got enough on her plate right now and even if I'm the one doing the planning she will have to have her fingers in it at every turn." Lily turned to see Lucinda putting her hands in the air as if to show her fingers weren't anywhere they weren't supposed to be.

"This will be your baby, darling, I want nothing to do with it. Or haven't I made that clear yet? I won't even show up if you don't want me to."

"Mother," Lily chastised.

"Mom," Luke pleaded.

"Look, I'm not saying we wait weeks and weeks, Luke. I'm just saying we table it for now. The exact when of the party can wait. There are lots of things that can be done before we have a date or a location locked down." She told him with a slight cock of her head towards Lucinda that she had every intention of using the party planning as a way to monitor their loved-one's return to power and hopefully head off total world domination.

He sighed, he hoped convincingly. "Ok, fine. But I'll be watching you, old lady," he said, brandishing a finger at Lucinda and heading for the door.

"Brat," she called out after him, just a little in love with the man the boy was growing into.

"Now, Mother, about the guest list…"

Lucinda eyed those of her determined daughter and allowed herself to deflate a little, her hands plop on the desktop. _Damn_. She'd had boards that weren't as difficult.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_It's supposed to be about how she's back on her feet, how she's independent and strong again._

"Wouldn't it be less trouble to just tell your mother?" Noah said, taking Luke's hand over the counter at Java.

"Yes. Much. But it wouldn't distract her from all the stuff that's been going on with Dad and the divorce and Damian. She needs a place to get away, to not feel like a rope being pulled in two directions. You know? She hasn't had a break since we thought Dad was dead. I mean she went from being a wreck about that to being a wreck about the wedding to being a wreck about the divorce with that oh so brief break over the holidays where they called a cease-fire for Faith, Natalie, and Ethan. Damian is at her constantly to marry him for real when the divorce is final but she keeps trying to get Dad to come home, stop proceedings. I'm not even sure what she really wants. I'm positive she doesn't really know." Luke played with Noah's hands, the comforting weight over his, the warmth that emanated from them, made his own all tingly and hot.

"Ok, so why not make it easier on her; she has been through a lot?" Noah asked his head tilting to the side and Luke got lost in his eyes for just a second.

Groaning he said, "Because easy isn't Lucinda. Especially not Lucinda in charge of Worldwide."

Noah nodded and Luke watched him go off somewhere else in his head. Not taking Luke with him though his hands still played between them on the counter.

"Hey," Luke, said, giving their hands a tug. "What's up, Mayer?"

Noah wince and his lips shifted over his face before he said, "Does she really want grandkids from us?"

Luke smiled, kids with Noah. Dads with Noah. "Well, she wants them from me. And that means you. Yeah, I guess she does." He nervously let his smile out, excited by the prospect but worried about Noah's reaction.

"That's a lot of pressure, Luke."

"Only if you think about it. I mean, she said before she dies and Lucinda intends to outlive us all so I think that gives us a little time." He smiled with less timidity. "As long as eventually…" And then it hit him. "Unless you're not, really open to the possibility of eventually…"

"It's a big possibility. Would they even let us? I mean and how old and just all the things that you have to plan when you…"

"Noah…" His stomach was starting to ache. He wasn't sure he and Noah were having the same conversation suddenly.

"You have to prove a stable home life and financial capability and sound mental state and—"

Luke just laughed. They were at least having the same conversation. Noah was just five or six steps ahead of him. "Hey," Luke tugged again, "that's my job." Noah looked at him all startled and confused and adorable. He couldn't help it, he just had to kiss him.

"Noah, Luke, just who I was looking for."

_Fuck. Mason_. Luke wasn't normally so disingenuous, he thought, but if Mason interrupted them one more time he might just be very unpleasant to the man.

"Mason, hi." Luke smiled waved, almost mentally wished the twins were still around so he could sic their insanity on Noah's lusting professor.

"So Noah, I had a bunch of notes on the dailies you dropped off if you wanted to… Noah?"

"Huh, yeah."

Mason turned to Luke, "Is he on _this_ planet right now?"

"Arguable." Luke said, stroking a hand over Noah's thick, desperately wanting to curl hair. "Right now he's filing for adoption and raising a teenager in his head."

"What?" Both Noah and Mason squeaked. It's was almost funny. Ok, it was totally funny.

"My grandmother planted an idea and it has Noah all befuddled," he went to pet the top of Noah's head again but was brushed away by a much more grounded man. Luke giggled at the slightly annoyed look on Noah's face.

"Can I get you something, Mason?"

"Yeah, regular," he said holding out his insulated cup. Noah took it and moved away. "So," he addressed Luke, "you're family wants you guys to have kids. Aren't you a little young?"

"Yes, it was more the caveat of someday. We've never really talked about it. I guess after this we'll have to."

"I'm sure you'll be fine parents. Any kid would be like to have two of you even if you'd both be dads. Any kid would be very loved in your home."

"Wow, Mason. Thanks." Now Luke felt bad for the twins thought. And, ok, several others.

"Here," Noah held out Mason's cup. "Did you ever think about kids?"

"Yeah. But I travel a lot and none of the relationships I've ever been in have been stable enough to really look into adding to the body count. But the two of you, yeah, I can see that." Mason nodded. "You're very lucky."

Luke watched Noah blush and took his hand again.

Mason slapped a couple of bills on the table top with a, "Keep the change," and a, "Call me so we can go over my notes," and left without another word.

"You know, sometimes, Noah, I can't help but feel like he's lead a very sad, very lonely life."

"You… feel bad … for Mason?" Noah was incredulous.

"In theory. I think so. In actuality if he thinks he's going to get his happy ending with you then I fully intend to rip his arms off."

They laughed and thought about each other's lips again as someone called for a MochaCappaLatte.

Luke watched Faith's face droop in annoyance and hoped that he hadn't looked like that in his teen years—not that they were very far behind him. He sympathized. Lucinda and Lily were going on round 17,005,002 on setting a date. You'd think it was a wedding or something. Although, when Luke thought about it, everyone he knew had a tendency to just jump right from engagement to ceremony. He'd heard that most people took a year to plan a wedding but he'd never seen it happen.

Soon he found himself making faces of his own at Faith, in part to cheer her up but also to mitigate his own boredom. Faith reciprocated and soon they were contorting their features and appendages in bizarre, though not terribly horrifying, ways.

"Oh, would you knock it off," cried Lily spinning around to confront the childishness behind her.

Faith was startled but not as much as Luke who had one arm wrapped around the back of his head, the fingers pulling his eye and mouth out of position, the other pushed through the space by his first's elbow, fingers bent mid-wiggle.

After the tense moment his sister erupted in laughter so strong she began to sink towards the floor. Lucinda tried to admonish them both with a straight face and failed horribly. Finally, Lily's sides convulsed as well because Luke couldn't seem to untangle himself and just sat there with his face and arms all higgledy-piggledy.

Seeing his mother relax, truly relax, for the first time in weeks, he held his position and went over to tackle her with his one awkward arm. Lily ran laughing, Faith chasing too, and Lucinda trying to direct traffic with her glasses, shouting.

Around the corner of the couch Luke let go of his position and pulled his mother, giggling, to the ground while Faith tickled her mercilessly.

After a few false attempts at a peace treaty they sat there, breathing heavy and quiet.

"Why not Independence Day?" Faith's non-sequitur did more to quell the lingering laughter.

"What's that, baby," Lily asked, running a hand down the girl's arm.

"For Grandma's party. It's supposed to be about how she's back on her feet, how she's independent and strong again. Why not do it on Independence Day? The 4th of July." Faith shrugged, started to stand and right her clothing.

Lily looked at Lucinda. Lucinda looked back.

"But it's July." Luke called to all of them.

"The way those two have been bickering nothing will be ready until then anyway." Faith was on her way to the kitchen, calling back over her shoulder, confident the adults would see the brilliance of her logic.

"I don't bicker."

"Oh, Grandmother, you so bicker."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

_He was unhappy. And for a lot of reasons_

Noah took a deep breath. Not entirely sure how to talk to Luke about what was bothering him. He'd been thinking about it. Trying to hear what little Luke had been able to tell him. And mostly going in circles.

He was unhappy. And for a lot of reasons.

Majorly there was Luke. He missed Luke. It's seemed like no matter how hard they tried, how much they wanted to be together—and Noah was sure Luke wanted him—something always got in the way. Maddie, Ameerah, Brian, school, Mason, Noah's father, Luke's family.

But Luke had a lot of responsibilities right now. He was working hard to keep his mom from coming apart, to keep his dad from hurting her further and assuring him that Luke would always be his son, and to keep Damian from taking over Lily's very messy life. Not to mention trying to be there for Faith and Natalie and Ethan. And working at Grimaldi Shipping. He had a full plate so it was tough for him to make time for Noah. Noah understood, really. That didn't mean he didn't miss Luke, didn't listen deeper to every little bit of the time that Luke could give to Noah.

Unfortunately, for the first time in Noah's life he didn't have a lot of responsibilities. No school. No Luke. No doing chores on the farm or the base. Most of the time he found himself cleaning the already clean dishes for something to do.

He had a job. Kind of. He was still pulling some shifts at Java to help pay off his school loans and he had a job at WOAK but… It was depressingly like what he'd done when he'd interned there years before with Luke and Maddie. He wasn't learning anything, he wasn't able to use any of the mountain of knowledge he'd earned at OU.

He felt a little pointless and kind of redundant. They had interns at WOAK. Young and fresh and new and so much like the three of them had once been.

He wanted to leave WOAK and work on a movie somewhere, anywhere. But that would mean leaving Luke. Something Noah really wasn't up for. Not that there was much of Luke to leave these days.

But at least he had a starting point. Luke would be home for dinner tonight. He promised.

Noah adjusted the plates on the table, inching them left or right, turning them this way or that, as if the angle would make the difference. As if the presentation would convince Luke to listen, to hear what Noah himself couldn't. That somehow the perfect shot of the dinner he'd spent his entire day off preparing—God bless Emma for her help over the phone—would get this one evening with Luke to make up for the weeks of being without him. Of being lucky to kiss him goodnight or good morning but rarely much more.

He lit candles, he folded napkins, he did anything he could think of to pass the time.

When his head started drooping and there was still no Luke he cleaned up, uninterested in the food he'd made, and went to bed.

More hurt and even a little more angry than he would ever tell Luke. He had promised.

Groggy and grumpy, still feeling exhausted even though he'd gotten several hours of sleep, Noah felt mildly delusional because of the smell of coffee.

It faded and he began to fade out too, back to the dream where he was with Luke, out by the pond having some ridiculous conversation about bicycles.

He felt a breeze on his face and the smell of coffee burst into his mind again. Definitely delusional.

"Come on Mayer," came the sweet sound of a teasing voice. And he could feel the heat curl against his face as the caffeine invaded his nostrils.

He cracked his eyes and missed the coffee cup just below his nose and landed on the warm brown eyes smiling across at him. For a moment he felt the warmth there seeping into him more intensely than the steam from the fresh coffee inches from his face. It only lasted until the evening before began to push the heat away.

"I'm sorry about last night. I know I said I'd be home."

Noah wasn't talking, he just lay there, trying not to look hurt, trying not to look like he was disappointed, and Luke thought he was doing a miserable job.

"I guessed you were upset when you wouldn't call me back." He tried not to sound annoyed, he really did. But he'd called and called Noah. Part of him had thought maybe Mason had "accidentally" broken Noah's phone or stolen it or… something equally lame.

"I wouldn't have been upset, Luke if you'd just called to tell me you weren't coming." Noah rolled over and saw the Luke hadn't even bothered to sleep beside him.

"I did call. I called and left message after message. Did you even check them?"

"No, Luke. I didn't need to, it was in my pocket all night. I would have heard it ring, I would have felt it vibrate."

Luke watched him slide out from the covers, in only his boxers because they turned the air off at night. He could feel the well-controlled anger across the room. Noah blamed him. Noah. God he'd messed up. Bad. He just wasn't sure how.

"I swear Noah, I called, I asked you to join us out at the house. I… Noah." He felt his insides start the panicked flutter that only happened when he thought this might be it, this might be the little thing that drove Noah away again. That cost him the one thing that made everything else ok. As Noah dug in his pile of discarded clothes Luke felt the anxious tingle beneath his skin turn almost painful. If Noah would just say … something.

Noah sank heavily into the bed, head bent, eyes closed, fists tight. He opened one and flipped open his phone to be greeted by nothing.

No evidence of Luke's calls, no waiting messages icon flickering. And no light whatsoever. The thing was dead as a doornail. It wouldn't even turn on when he hit power. He must have killed it talking to Emma. And not even noticed once he slipped it back into his pocket.

He felt his shoulders go down in shame, in defeat. He'd been too proud to call Luke last night, to look at his phone because he didn't want to feel the sting of seeing his suspicions confirmed, Luke had bailed without even a call. And it had cost him one of his most precious commodities. Time. Time with Luke.

And now it was costing him more. Luke was standing across the room, coffee in his hands, thinking that Noah had purposely blown him off last night. But he couldn't make himself say how wrong he'd been, how sorry. He was too embarrassed of the accusations he'd been thinking last night and this morning.

He moved around to plug in the phone to its charger and hit the power to finally see the device come on. He hit the voicemail and put it to his ear only to feel Luke's hand on his, pulling it away.

"Listen to it later." Luke held out a cup and watched Noah take it, his face basically wretched, the little boy who'd never gotten enough love or acceptance from his father peeking out so guilty, thinking he was the reason people couldn't love him the way he so desperately loved them.

"Hey," Luke said, his voice gruff and tired, putting the back of his hand to Noah's cheek. When Noah's eyes finally rose to his he smiled, gentle, sweet, welcoming, loving, accepting, all the things he felt for Noah every day. "I missed listening to you breath last night. I was sandwhiched between Ethan and Nat on the floor of my mother's room. As much as I would love to spend the morning having that talk, hearing anything you have to say," he looked at Noah's mouth, the lips that could say the cutest, most wonderful, dorky things. "Could we do it laying down? I'm exhausted."

Luke felt the scruffly skin of Noah's face slide against his fingers than the soft skim of his neck as Noah's nightbeard brushed against his cheek. He closed his eyes to enjoy the feel of him so near. Luke reached his arm around and embraced as much of Noah as he could.

"Fresh coffee's overrated." Noah placed the cup still lingering in his hands on the floor and moved Luke into his arms again.

They fell back on the bed together, shifting slowly, in increments, to a bundled, comfortable position and were promptly asleep in each other's arms the way they had wanted to be for so many hours apart.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

_Not all of the Grimaldis are crazy, Luke. I promise. Some of them are good, trustworthy people._

"You will fetch Signore Grimaldi immediately."

Luke spun around, his eyes landing on the very glamorously dressed woman before him who reeked of elegance, command, and her Italian accent. She was dress like one of the women in those movies Noah loved so much, with the gloves and the hats and the ominous music playing up in the background.

"Vivi," came a more cultured Italian accent and man, he couldn't be mistaken for an average American but he seemed less like a man out of time. "You must forgive her, she likes to order us all about." He laughed a bit more indulgently than Luke felt appropriate. "We've come to see Signore Damian Grimaldi. Please fetch him. Tell him Giorgio and Vivian have come."

"I—"

"There's no need Luciano." Damian said and he realized that the accent, the Italian inflection was just like this stranger, Giorgio. "I'm right here." Damian sighed and spoke right over Vivian's objections that "he can't be; what, don't they feed him… so scrawny." "We had an arrangement, Gio. This is most unappreciated and unfortunate. And a total waste of time. You and Vivi will just have to continue on your way wherever it was you were going so long as it isn't here."

"Damian, cousin, you must see re—"

"No. I mustn't see anything that I don't want to see." Damian snapped brandishing a hand at the gentleman. "That is why I am the head of this family."

Luke watched them not say anything. The two men stared at each other and the woman just watched Damian's face, still, not with the dominating purpose that the men had, but still with knowledge of some kind, with some kind of intent.

"Be gone," Damian shouted, declared, and they were.

Luke started to speak. "Don't Luciano," Damian sighed. "Luke. Luke, really. Just leave it."

"More crazy family relations I'm better off knowing nothing about?"

"Not entirely. Not all of the Grimaldis are crazy, Luke. I promise. Some of them are good, trustworthy people. Those two," he waved a hand and then grew exasperated.

"Never mind," he said looking away from the door where the two had gone. "How did the meeting with Echo Consolidated go, son?"

"I'm all about Team Luke," Noah said with his hands raised mock-defensively.

Casey cocked his head to the side and raised both brows.

"Ok, ok. I'm rooting for Team Holden."

"Me too."

"Three," piped in Ali.

"Is anyone for Team Damian?" Casey cast a glace around the small group at the table skeptically.

"Damian," Jade snorted.

"The real question is who is Lily really rooting for." The whole group paused, wondering—as Noah gathered up their empty mugs and Jade's two Splenda packets—at his words.

"I realize this makes me the epitome of an ungrateful bitch," Jade angled her jaw at Alison, "but I'm rooting for Team Lily. I know Luke is too."

Ali rolled her eyes, Casey listened looking at her with his forehead scrunched, and Noah… well, Noah just knew and walked over to the counter to deposit the dishes.

"Ok, I can back that. Woot Team Lily," Casey said drumming his fingers. "But, Jade, please, please, pleasepleaseplease tell me you are _not_ pulling for Team Lamian."

She rolled her eyes and leveled an exasperated look at him. "No, Case. I'm not hoping that she'll choose Damian. He may have more money than Brittney Spears—and better hair—But I don't trust him. I saw what he did do Luke before. And he was all macking on Meg like a hot week before he asked Lily to marry him so," she shook her head. "I just want what makes Lily happy. Cause Fake Happy has got to fucking go."

Jade looked away from Casey, her point made and saw Noah, arms crossed and face serious, looking at her with agreement in his eyes

Lucinda sat upright on her chaise and Paolo looked up from his kneeling position at her feet where he'd been massaging them. Those figures couldn't be accurate. They just couldn't be. She pulled her feet away from Paolo's ministrations and set off across the room to dig through a stack of papers there.

"This is why I'll never be green, darling," she said. Paolo was always after her for something. Whales, snakes, lions, layers of the stratosphere. She loved to give into to his pleading every now and again. It gave their sessions a lovely kind of fun. "I'd never be able to find anything if it weren't on paper.

She shuffled and flipped, looked at bottom lines, did all the math and things were still wonky.

"It's on paper and I _still_ can't see it." She was talking to no one in particular now; Paolo had left hours ago. "There's nothing else for it, old girl." She said raising her head. "Time to call in the troops." If something had been going on at Worldwide, something untoward. If Walsh Enterprises was involved the way she thought then they were hiding it in plain sight or very, very well.

She needed an edge to find out what and who and for how long somebody had been using her company right under the former CEOs noses—because there was no way either of them had been up to this; Dusty would have spotted that a mile off.

Lucinda knew just what contacts to brush up against to get things moving. She fully expected to be up to her ears in explanations before long. And she wasn't about to lose the edge she already had.

Just a phone call was all it would take and when a voice answered she skipped all preamble and said, "Tell Robert Lucinda has a job for him."

"Holden?"

"Hey Noah." Mr. Snyder was in back, mucking out a stall, and—heedless of the stench of hot, summer manure—Noah picked up a pitchfork and began moving fresh bedding into the waiting cubicles, mind absently wondering what day he was tossing along the stable floor. Was it Sunday, were there the bright dots of comics, the long lists of sights in the arts section? Was it Tuesday with its hard hitting facts about the town hall meeting and politics in Chicago? What kind of headlines were they? Did they seem to make much or little of the lives they were about? Would the headlines of his own story make much or little of him?

They worked quietly side by side. Both with more on their minds than they were willing to share, both worried about how their preoccupation and their decisions were affecting those around them.

Eventually Holden leaned against the shovel's handle and spoke to Noah over his shoulder and the bay wall. "He is taking this harder than he lets on, isn't he?"

Noah snorted and said, "Oh, yeah," without knowing it, then pulled himself up physically. "He just wants everyone to be happy. You, his mom, Damian, the kids. Really, that's all. That he can't just wave a wand and make that happen is really hard on him."

"He must be fighting the urge to work up some dramatic plan that's supposed to fix everything constantly."

"You mean like tricking you and Mrs. Snyder into going to a cabin where you'll be trapped for days alone together? No, not really."

Holden laughed. Saw the dim lights of Noah's own smile.

"How far down are you on that list?'

"What?" Noah asked, focused once again on the bales and stalls.

"On the list of things Luke is spending his time driving himself crazy over, trying to fix. Where do you come in, Noah?"

Holden watched the boy shrug, watched him doubt that he was even on the list though both of them knew in their hearts he was higher than it seemed. "Family comes first."

"Ok." Holden kept watching him, waiting for just the right words to come to him, knowing better than to waste time on those that weren't quite right. "You're family too, Noah."

"I… Thanks. I know. It's just…" The young man was leaning against his pitchfork, mirroring Holden. "The squeaky wheel gets the oil."

"Yeah, I know. I was always more the… 'strong, silent type.'"

"I lean towards, 'Still waters run deep.'"

"Yeah," Holden smiled at the boy, "Yeah, that's right."

They went back to work a little lighter, if sweatier.

He watched Noah fumble with the bowtie ends, listened to his words stumble as he asked what he'd really be expected to do at Lucinda's party.

"Here," Luke said slipping his hands in around Noah's and the tie. "Let me. You are always hopeless with these things when you're nervous."

As his fingers worked under Noah's sweet chin he was reminded of the first time he helped Noah with his tie, of the kiss they'd shared.

He lingered, stalled, but too soon the bow was tied and the tux complete. He moved back and looked over the handsome man who would be escorting him to the ball in his grandmother's honor.

"You look absolutely amazing in a tux, Mr. Mayer."

"Thank you, Mr. Snyder." Noah lifted a dashing brow.

"I think it would make excellent pajamas." He said gripping his boyfriend's lapels.

"Don't you think it would be a little uncomfortable to sleep in?" Noah asked smiling, his hands coming up around Luke's suited back.

"Who said anything about sleep?"

"Oh." Noah's lips were round and juicy and very soon that deep, kissed red.

In a room high up in the Lakeview a woman stared into her own eyes, watching one life in them fade away into nothing as another became brighter. She smiled differently and tilted her head down, letting her throat relax.

"It's nothing totsy." She told the new woman in the mirror. "You'll just go down there make nicely nicely with Lucy's favorite people and see if you can put some of these puzzle pieces together."

She nodded. It sounded simple enough, straightforward, and possibly even fun.

"Right. Onward Christian soldiers." She brought a fist up and shook it triumphantly before slipping out of the room with the short trail of the black, beaded gown behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

_That's when Noah happened upon a woman talking to herself… or a sign._

Luke thanked the desk clerk, Jeffres—who'd been on staff there as long as his mother had been running the place and likely since it was built—and handed back the house phone.

He drummed his hands on the counter top a moment pondering how next to attempt to reach his father.

"'Scuse me." Luke turned and saw a petite woman in a swirling black dress, beads sparkling here and there, dark blonde tresses like his wrapped around her head the way the dress wrapped around her. "Lend a lady your arm?"

He wasn't really sure how to respond to that and felt a bit flabbergasted as he looked at her, she was obviously gala bound.

"Ahh, yeah. " He squeezed his eyes closed and shook himself. "I mean," he offered his arm, "madame."

"Thank you," she slipped her gloved hand around it and fell into step beside him as they turned towards the ballroom.

"So," he revved up the small talk, "who do you know at this shindig?" He added a smile and a laugh; he was sure Holden was fine. Just because he'd been dead, held captive, and missing nine months ago didn't mean that anything had to be wrong. He was sure his father was fine.

"Old friend of the family," she said as they moseyed—to give her dress time to catch up to them—towards the doors.

"Really?" He said stopping and turning towards her quizzically.

"Really," she said rolling her R in a way that told him she thought he should believe her.

"Because I've been a member of the family for a long time and I haven't the foggiest clue who you are." He felt her hand slide off him as he dropped his arm and watched her eye the ceiling for some kind of clue.

"Well, it's a big family." She looked at him with a small smile stretched over her face.

"Not," he lifted a finger, "not really. You know, tonight is invitation only so why don't you go back to whoever you work for and tell them that." He stretched a smile too and left her standing beside the event sign.

She had no intention of stopping the roll of her eyes as she said, "I wish kid, believe me," with a hand on her hip.

She put a well turned hand to her hair and smoothed it casually while taking a surreptitious glance around the room and turning to look at the gilded stock announcing Lucinda Walsh's independence. "He's definitely related to you. He's forgetting the crop of mysterious siblings in your brood; makes for a much larger tree."

That's when Noah happened upon a woman talking to herself… or a sign.

"Excuse me," she looked up at him brightly when he spoke, "can I help you?" He watched her eyes appraise him and her smile get bigger.

"I sincerely hope so." Because this really needed to go well or her job was going to be so much harder. "Do you consider yourself a gentleman of honor," she asked angling her hip toward him and her head away.

"Ah," he blushed, "I guess you could say that?"

"Hmm, but when pressed you wouldn't? Is that because you've done dishonorable things or because you are a humble man?"

He blushed deeper.

"I see." Her cheeks were rosier when he had the guts to look at her again. "Well, sir, I would be honored if you could escort me," she swung a hand towards the entryway before them, "thither."

So he offered his arm to her, propping it out firmly, but not stiffly, saying, "People still say thither?'

"The more charming, plebeian masses," she returned, arching her arm deftly around his.

When he lowered it their bodies came together and they made an entrance. One which would make David O. Selznick proud. One with skirts swishing, tuxedo lapels gleaming, witty banter, and an immaculate pan accompanied but a buffet of music.

"Speaking of plebian masses." She felt the young man fidget inside his skin beside her as they made their way into the room. "Don't let the duds fool ya kid." His head snapped to her. "Everybody here's wearing underwear except for us." And he was laughing inspite of himself.

"_I'm_ wearing underwear."

She tsked once and said, "What a shame."

And in a moment it was like she was a completely different person. Her free hand waving, her smile gay, her voice chirping. "Oh, Luce." Her fingers even twiddled in Lucinda's direction.

Lucinda glanced over, her face not quite paling at the sight of the woman on his arm; he felt his eyebrows moving over his face in return but wasn't able to stop them.

"Think she'd die if I wished her a very merry unbirthday?" She continued to smile at Lucinda who was making her way towards them as she spoke.

"No," he said, sure Luke's grandmother would crucify her instead.

"Good, paramedics can be so ineffectual."

He wasn't sure if he should be amused, aghast, or agog. Somehow he was pretty sure he was finding a way to be all three.

"Luce!" She exclaimed, air kissing. "A very merry unbirthday to you."

"Ah, Wendilyne," Lucinda returned, sizing her up as Wendilyne had Noah a minute before. "Glad you could join us." The smile Mrs. Walsh gave was definitely feline and only a tad scary, much less bloodletting than Noah would have guessed. "Noah," she nodded at him and was moving away to greet someone else.

"You actually did it."

"Course. You said it wouldn't kill her. I don't want the _harm_ the baggage, just annoy her a little."

"Why?" It was Lucinda's party after all.

"Because she'll have more fun that way. People like Lucinda always enjoy a good sparring partner."

"Well… are you that? Good, I mean."

"Oh," she said her voice taking on a deep quality, "when I'm good I'm very good but when I'm bad I'm better." And she hip checked him gently to send him swaying.

_Mae West_. He looked at her. The dress, the hair, the attitude. Mae West. There was no way he couldn't… enjoy her. Sure she was maybe a bit brash or brazen or bizarre but she was a bit too fun for any of that to really be very offending.

While he was looking at her, processing something, she let go of his arm and like a bred gentleman, like one who'd had manners brow beat into him, only then did he lower his arm and release her. Most would have done it when she'd been making him uncomfortable, egging Walsh on. But he'd held, his arm not shaky though his eyes had gone a little wide.

"Wendilyne," he said offering his hand with a smile. "I'm Noah, Noah Mayer."

"Wendy," she smiled back, pleased. "Ever call me Wendilyne Denby and I'll find a burglar in your house with my shotgun." She ended with a nod and took his hand in her gloved own.

He laughed. "Ok, deal. Just Wendy." And since they already were, they shook on it.

"Well," someone spoke right next to her ear, the tone low, familiar, "hello."

She turned, smiling. "Dusty," she said, dusting his shoulder off. "Up to no good I hope." She eyed him, sure there would always be plenty of it with Dustin, thought about throwing her arms around him, but didn't. Instead let the past play out, away, let him call the next shot.

" Hmm." It was a definite sound of non-agreement and they both knew it. "And you?"

"Oh, you know me," she wrapped a hand around the neck of the crystal stemware holding a nearly full portion of champagne. "My business doesn't need a particular port so every now and again I pick a new one," she continued, feeding him information. "I just blew into town and think I might stay awhile."

He responded by taking her wrist and lifting a hand away from the crystal. Holding its tips he kissed her knuckles. "It's delightful to see you," he said in his best rogue. "I was getting bored."

"Ha." She laughed knowing that this development would be fun for both of them. "Well, don't say Wendy-Bird never did anything for you."

"Wendy-Bird?" He kept her hand and eyed her.

"You never saw Peter Pan?" She lifted an eyebrow.

"Been a while."

"With a name like Wendilyne Denby you've got to find your humor where you can."

He patted the hand of hers still enfolded in his own. "So unbelievably glad you're here, Wen." He let her go and stroked a card out of his pocket and into her grasp. "Come by my office. We'll catch up." He left still smiling like he was trying not to laugh uproariously and shaking his head at his own dumb luck.

"I thought my brother—" She listened to the man behind her talking to the young woman who'd just approached him.

"Casey's a good guy but he's not my keeper."

"Maddie…I…"

"What Adam?"

"I spent a lot of time—enough already for this lifetime and probably the next one—one my brother's shit list. Deep on his shit list."

"Yeah, but he's getting over that. And my coming back, my testifying had a lot to do with that. I don't understand why, if we can get past what happened, he can't move on, why he should still be upset."

"Deep. Deep, deep, deep on his shit list."

She felt herself crack a smile against her will. He was kind of adorably trying to be a good brother. And hey, bros before hos man.

"Ad—"

"Deep. _Deep._"

"Stop—"

"So deep I came back from the dead and he accused me of shooting our mother. _Deep, deep, deep._ Deep.

"Please," he said again after a few beats had passed.

She felt the girl slip away, listened to him sigh and gulp at whatever was in his glass.

"_Fuck,_" he said eventually.

"Always worse this time of year," she mumbled over her shoulder at him.

He snorted in return. "And what time of year is that?"

"Any time of year."

She heard him shift in his rented tux and she turned to look over at him, to see him watching her. She let him see that bit in her eyes that spoke her credentials.

"You too?"

She shrugged. "It was snowing. I hate snow."

"No snow tonight."

She felt the sweat drip down her back, wishing she didn't look so damn good in those heavy, form-fitting dresses.

She held his eyes and smiled slowly, wide, grinning, winning. "Here," she qualified and watched him smile with one half of his face. Watched that infect the rest.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

_All the heads rolled to see Damian stalking away from the balcony doors, Meg furiously on his heels and Holden at the end of her arm pulling her back._

"When are you going to realize she doesn't want you Damian?"

"Meg," he said turning, unable to think of any other approach to her. "I'll realize it when it's true."

He watched things travel over her face, things for which he had no names, things which the man who truly loved her, who belonged to her as he belonged to Lily, would know, would name, would see for all their weighty glory.

"How can you be so…?"

"In love." He offered the truth he possessed.

"Deceitful." She countered her brown eyes. "I'm not sure what the biggest of your lies even are Damian."

He could only look at her, there was no defense for how things had ended between them, no thing he could say, no gesture he could make that would alleviate her trouble dealing with her own emotions. So he stood, let her direct her hurt and shame at him.

"God," she rolled her eyes making them gleam wildly in the glow cast from the windows along the balcony, "you don't know either, do you? You're just that good, huh?"

"I never wanted to hurt you, Meg. Any lies I told were to keep from doing just that."

He saw her hand rise and turned his head as is crossed his cheek, letting the blow glance.

"Just another damn lie," She yelled stepping closer yet again.

"Meg? Everything ok here?"

Damian fought the urge to step away and roll his eyes at Holden. If ever there was a man who needed to realize what Lily's true feelings were.

"It's none of your business, Holden." Meg barked over her shoulder.

"You're my sister so if he hurt you it's my business."

Damian caught the loop hole and could see in Meg's eyes she did too. Damian had hurt her. Just once. Just once months ago. Almost a year.

Now she was just hurting herself.

"Goodnight, Meg." He moved away, around them, back to the ball room, hearing Meg and Holden mutter, scuffle.

The small family circle turned to see who was approaching, drawing Lily's eye. It had really been just the movement behind the group that had caught her attention but when it was revealed to be members of the Grimaldi clan—if memory served—she bristled, noticed Luke bristling too.

"Luciano, Signoras Walsh, Snyder, children." He didn't mutter 'of dubious decent' but she felt it in the way he eyed her daughters hesitantly.

"I don't believe you were invited Signore … Grimaldi, isn't it?"

"Ah, yes, Signora Snyder. Your time as Signora Grimaldi has not left you I see."

"Neither has the fact that you aren't welcome here." She had risen, started to angle into his space, felt Luke and Lucinda forming a barrier between them and the girls.

He had the good grace to smile sheepishly. "Yes, for that we, my wife and I," she felt her gaze snap to the women, dark and forbidding and much less interested in manners than her husband, "apologize. We meant not to disturb your celebration."

"So why did you then, huh?" Lucinda didn't want any more surprises tonight.

"I am looking for Signore… for my cousin. It is of the utmost importance I find him."

"If he's here I haven't seen him." Lucinda was short and dismissive.

"I saw him." Luke had seen him from across the room watching his mother with Lisa on his arm. "It was a while ago. Just after I arrived."

"I spoke with him earlier. He might have left. Has something happened?" Lily was hoping it wasn't something with the shipping business which would take Luke away from the family.

"There he is," Natalie piped up from the other side of the human shield. All the heads rolled to see Damian stalking away from the balcony doors, Meg furiously on his heels and Holden at the end of her arm pulling her back.

The party watched and Damian headed for them, his displeased expression deepening. Luke, and Lily, watched Holden see it too.

"Giorgio. I thought I made myself quite clear before that you and Vivian were to—"

"Cousin, yes, you have. We would not be here if things were not dire. I implore you to come with me."

"Why should I leave a family occasion to listen to things I have heard a hundred times?"

The two men had stepped closer and closer together, their voices low, menacing.

"I promise not to be insulted—"

"Mother."

"—and as it's my party…"

"You trust me to see to affairs in Malta. Trust me now, cousin. Hear me. This will resolve itself without you if you persist."

"Everything alright," Holden asked, Meg tucked behind him.

Lily only looked at him, 'sorry' written all over her face. "I don't know, Dad," he heard Luke say.

"There can be no resolution I do not agree to, Gio. You know this."

"You are a blind fool, Damian, being lead around like a dog by a woman who doesn't even want you—"

"Vivian," both Giorgio and Damian called out; one vehement, the other tired.

"If you will not hear reason you will lose much more than your manhood to cuckoldry, you will lose your power and without that all the things you have tried to build for this family will disintegrate."

"You have always been an alarmist Viv."

"A realist."

Giorgio shushed her with a hand. "This time not wholly without foundation, Damian. There have already been breaches in the walls. Protections you set up are being disregarded. It is only a matter of time until someone starts to take the future of this family into their own hands."

At that several sets of ears perked up. That was a language they understood. It was long handed Italian for Luke, Damian's heir apparent—though he'd refused it time and again.

"You must listen to me cousin. Please."

"Listen and throw off this ungrateful, little disappointment and her young, lead our family as you should have years ago."

"_Vivi_," Giorgio hissed. But she wouldn't be stopped

"Listen before it is too late and there is no one who will be lead by you. No you to lead."

"How could you let it come to this?" Damian was looking into Giorgio's own self-effacing eyes.

"How could you?" Vivian defended her husband's choices, accusing Damian of the ineffectuality.

"Enough," Damian bellowed. "Giorgio." He called as he stomped away to some corner where they could go over the situation in more detail.

It would have been better if they hadn't, it wouldn't have left Holden, Lily, Luke, Lucinda, and the girls all wondering what those details might be, and just how much danger Luke—and Damian—might be in. And it wouldn't have left Vivian unescorted.

"You," she glared, almost spit, at Lily. "You will be the death of a great man, a great legacy. Your ineptitude, disloyalty, and selfish pandering will destroy him, and your son; and you are too dimwitted, too weak to even see what you are doing. You are below him. I can only assume the same of your offspring."

And that was when Holden stood up for his wife, stood before the woman who had only heard about Lily, only seen her actions from the gallery. "You can go. _Now_. Join your little dramatic cabal in the corner bar and plot whatever it is people like you consider a family meeting and leave mine the hell alone."

"You don't know what you are dealing with."

"Oh, I think I do. I've been dealing with it for about twenty years now and somehow I've manage

To keep us all safe and together which works just fine for me."

Her eyes slid over his shoulder. "A coddled king doesn't do much good for his people." Luke felt her eyes slicing through him even as he felt his mother's hand gripping his.

"How I raised my son is of no concern to you."

"You are more wrong than you will live to understand."

She turned, sauntering off, heel stabbing the air her perfume lingering behind her.

"Everybody ok?" He asked over his shoulder. Not ready to see the fear, panic, and terrific anger in Lily's eyes.

"Not hardly," came Lucinda's answer, her arms around the Nat and Faith's shoulders. "Lily next time I say I don't want a party, will you listen?"

Lily couldn't even huff a laugh, she was so shaken.

"Mom," Luke said softly when she didn't respond.

"Oh, Luke." She put her arms around him and got more than a little teary.

"Lily," Holden said—his voice doing more to calm her than Lucinda's snark. "We won't let them near him."

"Because we did such a stellar job last time Holden. Luke _and_ Noah were held for ransom. Noah was shot," she said pulling away enough to look over at Holden.

The reminder made Luke pull her a little closer, his eyes looking for Noah in the crowd.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

_So you ask your grandmother about her._

Lucinda's party had gone from bad to worse. The party crasher who ended up making it in even after Luke had alerted security? He'd seen her schmoozing Dusty, Adam, Noah. It was ludicrous. And then just when he'd convinced himself not to make a scene, to give his mother her evening of complete soiree bliss, to relax and enjoy his family, Grimaldi's showed up and made a scene for him. A far worse one than he would have if he'd given that woman a serious piece of his mind.

As it was he ended up losing all his peace of mind.

Eyes searching desperately he'd found Noah, laughing with Case and Ali over by the lip staining punch. Their gazes caught and he'd watched the merriment drain from Noah's face, watched a worried shadow passed over it. He'd breathed a sigh of relief though, to see Noah safe, near, but it was partial.

Noah'd crossed the floor single-minded and determined. Luke had turned from his family into Noah's arms and burrowed under his chin, deep into his shoulder like some little kid afraid of thunder, not yet old enough to worry about whether or not he should be. Luke'd watched as his father tried to smile at them and move off without leaving them exposed to a Grimaldi or himself to Lily's pleading for them to work things out.

They'd all been grateful when she'd let her campaign go for the night. Now that he thought about it their moments joined together as concerned parents had probably gained her a lot of ground with Dad. Luke forced away his own worry over if that was a good thing or a bad thing while ripping off his bowtie and chucking it at the worn couch in their living room.

There were bigger worries right now than his parents' troubles.

"Luke," Noah said, putting his hands on Luke's shoulders and pulling him back to rest against him. "Relax. Ok? There's nothing we can do tonight about any of this."

"I… I can't relax because even as we speak," he turned in his arms to face him, "Noah, some insane family relation could be plotting to kill you or me or Damian or—"

And Noah kissed him, deep, sure, strong, trying to wipe out all the thoughts running rampant through Luke's brain of Grimaldi schemes. The kiss, which had started quickly, forcefully, ended with a tender lingering. With one last soft, plain press of moist, heated lips Noah mumbled, "Calm down. None of that is going to happen tonight."

Luke shuddered in a deep breath, clung—hands wrapped around the pressed lapels of the tux—again to Noah. "You can't know that. I just…"

"I know. Me neither." Noah's breath brushed across Luke's hair, his ear; his cheek turning even deeper into it.

"So what do we do?" Luke asked more of Noah's neck than his face.

"Well, I guess—logistically—we strengthen our defenses." Noah's arms settled closer around him but his spin straightened and his head moved away from Luke's; the Coronel's son.

"How so?"

"Well, last time the twins just walked right in, we didn't really look into their references or…get any, actually." He could feel Noah's eyes move left, felt chastised, defensive of his choices, of Noah's.

Luke stood straighter, raised his head away as the man against him had, and looked at Noah. "Not the best idea I guess."

"We didn't think to be suspicious." Noah looked into his eyes with the sure kind of force he put behind everything he did. "Now we have some idea of what is going on so we can be more careful."

"Oh my God." He felt himself light up, felt the dawning of an idea, knowledge, a plan. "I know exactly who the Grimaldi's are using." Luke pulled away to dig his cell phone out of his coat pocket which he'd flung on the couch before his tie.

"Who?" Noah moved with him, followed him as he started to put things into action.

"That woman."

Noah stared at him for a moment; guess that wasn't so helpful. "Which woman?"

"The one in the dress with her hair all," he wound his hands around his head, his cell in one of them.

"Luke… I… who?" Noah squinted at him in a look of honest confused.

"You were speaking to her," he said trying for less vague details, things that proved she was the one the Grimaldis had sent, things hard to grasp at his excitement to be doing something to protect the people he loved. "She crashed the party, tried to get me to get her in from the lobby earlier. Oh, even more suspicious: she was awfully chummy with Dusty."

"How does Dusty have anything to—"

"I don't trust him, he got my parents into a lot of trouble." The flashes of deaths and arrests, arguments and slammed doors, crying and lying. All things Luke wanted to lay solely and Dusty Donovan's door.

"I know you don't like him, don't trust him, but he's always been a stand up guy to me. I don't see how talking to Dusty means she's in league with the Grimaldi's." Noah moved with him again—hands out, defending—as he tried to deny how Dusty had been with him when the truth about his parentage had come out.

"Fine. I just…." He fought for the rationality that was so easy for the man he loved, grappled with it and tried to believe it the way Noah did. "I feel like something's fishy with that woman. I mean she said she was a friend of my family's and didn't even know who I was."

"Well, she knows Dusty and she knows Lucinda," Noah ticked off on his fingers, eyes moving to stay on Luke's as he continued to work his mind around the maze of emotion and logic with him, "—who wasn't surprised she was there—so maybe she is but you don't remember her."

"Maybe, but she's not that much older than us Noah."

"Ok. So you ask your grandmother about her."

"Right."

Noah put his hands down and said, "And I'll ask Dusty," like it was the next logical conclusion to everything that had been discussed instead and a clear step into the path of danger.

"Woah. No. Nope, uh-uh." Luke shook his head, sliced his hands through the air, and pursed his lips.

"Luke?" The expression he was looking at distinctly told him that any response had to be based solidly not in the realm of Because I Love You so he bit his nail and thought for a minute.

"Look, if she's on the take," Luke said while Noah gave him a skeptical look, "or whatever, and Dusty's in on it he's not going to tell you anything that doesn't cover for her."

"Exactly. So we compare what we learn from him to what we learn from Lucinda," Noah measured them with his hands, "and if they pretty much say the same thing we'll know, if they don't gel that will tell us a lot too."

Luke pursed his lips harder and let his shoulders sag. "That's pretty clever. How'd I get such a smart boyfriend?" Luke, cell long forgotten in his grip, wrapped his arms around Noah, kissed his neck.

"Elementary, my dear Watson."

"Hmm, I like that but—Holmes—can I be the one to tie you to the bed?"

Noah smiled, lifted his brows and angled his head towards their room. "If we can get these monkey suits off first."

"Aww. I like you in a monkey suit."

They laughed and in short order the monkey suits lay in forgotten, haphazard piles around the room.

Later they'd joke about ways to casually bring up Luke's concerns about Wendy Denby to Lucinda and Dusty that would never, ever work. Like:

"So I think the Grimaldi's hired a psycho killer."

"Grandmother, do you suppose the FBI has a file on any of the guests at your party?"

"Dusty, been a while. Framed any other women for your faked death lately? Any of them called Wendy?"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

_Welcome to the masses. You're an adult now, in the real world._

Out of boredom and anxiety, rather than any indication of a need for it, Noah began cleaning the counters and empty tables at Java again. The three interns at the station were the only ones in the place and listening to them giggle and plot the next step in their summer project was only making him feel more frustrated, more isolated, more like all the time he'd spent at OU was a waste, just like his father said it would be.

He glanced over his shoulder when the door scraped open again and then slammed shut. Dusty's head bent over his phone as he trouped up to the bar.

"What can I get for you?" Noah asked on his way over, watching the man's relaxed back.

"Hey, Noah. Iced coffee. It's hot out today."

"Yeah," Noah said moving to scoop ice into a plastic cup and—as that didn't leave an opening to inquire after any recent deaths Dusty may have faked—continued with, "haven't seen you around lately. Life good?"

"Sure," Dusty said, a downturned smile on his face. "Mostly just been working at Walsh these days and with Lucinda back in the game mostly I sit in my office and try to stay out of her way. Most of the higher ups do. The non-dumb ones anyway. What about you, kid? This doesn't look much like a movie set."

Noah smiled, trying to hide the pain. "Oh, working my way up, you know? Working at WOAK and here, trying to pay off my school loans."

"Ah, paying your dues. I was never too good at that part." They both smiled lopsided, half-awkward, and Dusty picked up the cup Noah pushed across the counter, sliding his credit card back. "I guess there's something to be said for climbing the ladder, learning the rules." He took his card back when Noah had swiped it and put it in his wallet as he continued. "Everybody always tried to tell me that that was the way it was done and I was just going to screw myself over in the long run trying to skip to the top, trying to do it my way."

"Did you?" Noah asked, his arms bracing him against the counter.

Dusty laughed, his eyes in a world far away from Java and Oakdale. "Yeah, I guess I did but not in the ways everybody always thought." He shrugged and then leaned against the counter too. "I was supposed to pay a professional price, supposed to end up unemployable, too experienced to do entry level, not experienced enough for what I really wanted, for the position I held, not be able to do the job I'd conned someone into giving me, not have the experience to know how to work with others or understand how the machine worked together. That was never the problem."

"What was?" Noah looked at the pain and bittersweet non-remorse drift across the man's face.

"I can't tell you how many relationships—romantic, friendly, familial—exploded because I didn't know how not to do it my way, how to follow someone else's lead, how to let go of something I wanted. In a timely fashion."

Which was the reason Luke couldn't trust him, couldn't stand how his mother had needed him, how his father had been hurt by him.

"Is Wendy Denby one of those relationships?"

"What?"

"I saw you guys, talking, at Lucinda's thing."

"Ahh, yes. Wendy-Bird." He laughed again. "She is both personal and professional and while I may have stepped on her toes from time to time—and she's done it to me—she's not really one of _those_ relationships."

He watched Dusty drink more coffee and wiped at the spotless counter asking, "When'd you guys work together?"

"On and off over the years. She's done some consulting for me I've done some consulting for her. Neither one of us took a linear career path you could say and as such we get along pretty well."

"Oh, what was her career path like?"

"Long. Say, kid, what's this?" Dusty shrugged, waved the plastic cup around a little.

"Huh," Noah grunted trying for innocent and confusedly surprised.

"Did you and Luke have an out? You back on girls suddenly?"

"Oh, God, no. I… I was just talking to her, met her… she seemed cool I was just curious what her deal was."

"You should ask her," Dusty said leveling his eyes into Noah's, cool, straightforward, and more aware than Noah was entirely comfortable with.

"Yeah. I guess."

"She's working out of The Lakeview for now," Dusty supplied backing his way out the door. "Suite 1214."

He rang up the group of kids whose growth was probably being stunted by the amount of caffeine they were sucking down in FrappaMocha form and watched them bop out into the twilight in Old Town. Like vampires for sugar, feeling completely unfettered even though they all had curfews. He'd missed a life like that. And while his mind was drifting through what it would have been like to have grown up with parents more like everybody else's—imperfect but certainly not murderers and pimps—in Oakdale. To grow up with Luke, to know like he had from the beginning that he was special in more than the way of fingerprints and snowflakes.

Building the movie in his mind of their childhood together Noah missed Maddie come in laughing with Casey but came too to the snap of Casey's fingers in his face.

"Earth to Noah."

"Yeah, sorry." He shrugged. "Tired I guess."

"Dude, you work at Java; have some." Casey let his eyes bug out with the obviousness of it all. He rolled them at Maddie and said, "Speaking of, I've got the night shift so gotta jam. Stay real," he said pointing at them both on his way out the door, not unlike Dusty had a couple hours earlier.

"So, other than tired, Noah, how are you?" Maddie said looking sincerely at him.

"Good…mostly."

"Huh, ok. Like… what? Tell me. What is only mostly good in Noah Mayer's life these days?"

"Work. Sucks."

"Welcome to the masses. You're an adult now, in the real world."

"Yeah. I just wish I'd been a bit more prepared for how not the beginning of something amazing graduating was."

"A lot more like _The Graduate_ than you were expecting, huh?"

"Only without all the, umm…"

"Babes?"

"I was going to say woman trouble but…. Channeling Casey today are you?"

"I guess it's my day for witty exes."

Which slammed the lid on all the comforting feelings of just hanging with a friend, of being able to talk about what was really bothering him.

"Sorry. God, that was awful." She flopped her head down onto her arms, draped over the counter.

"No, I … I kinda deserve that."

"No. No, Noah, that's one of the things all of this therapy I've been doing has taught me. It hurt, yes, but I really am letting that go. It doesn't still. I'm happy for you. For Luke. At his grandma's shindig you guys seemed…"

"Uncoordinated." He meant their performance on the dance floor.

"Happy." She smiled shy and sweet, he breathed easier seeing it. "That's what I always want for you."

"Me too. I mean, I want that for you."

"Good. So now that's out of the way," she groaned and dropped her head again. "I'm doing much less well with the Casey-Alison thing than with the you-Luke thing."

Noah laughed. "I have some idea of what you mean, kind of."

"Luke didn't…"

"Technically, sort of. But I meant Kevin."

"Oh, yeah. The election. I heard about that. But what's this technically business?"

"Nothing," he said feeling the bile rise up in his throat again, the muscles in his right hand twitch and twist. "It's not important."

"Like hell it isn't. Hey, hey, Noah. You're practically ripping that rag in two so don't give me 'it's nothing.' Whatever it was wasn't nothing to you. You can talk to me."

"I… God, it's so stupid, it was stupid and I, I really forgave him. But…."

"It hurt. If it didn't you wouldn't be in love you'd be in… acquaintance. What happened?"

"He kissed his step-grandfather who turned out to be gay," he sighed they were alone and of all people Maddie would probably understand the best which was all his fault. "On New Year's Eve."

"Oh." She stood up straighter, shocked. "My."

"I know. Insanity runs in his family."

" 'It practically gallops,' " she shot back the quote at him and just like that she was Maddie who knew all the movies and all the lines and he was Noah who'd never had a friend like that before.

They were still laughing over it, Noah a little hysterically, when Maddie said, "Surely you can't be serious."

He nodded, still laughing, "But don't call me Shirley."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

_This is important. For all of us. I want to keep you as far out of it as I can. For your safety, for your mother's._

"In that case I'd like one of those muffins because this poor sucker is starving to death." Noah chuckled and moved to get it for Maddie. "You know my sister's high school did that show and it was awful. I was young enough that I didn't fully understand why it wasn't like the movie I'd seen."

He placed the plate in front of her and grimaced. "I helped out at some high school shows: Murder." She pinched off a chunk of muffin and pushed the plate to be in front of them both so he took a little. "Though the theatre I worked at in Branson had some tours come through that were amazing. There was this one that was all these different kinds of juggling."

"Like guys with flaming swords and stuff," she said around another pinch of muffin.

"Some, but mostly really original, things you'd never even think of."

"Like eggs or lamps or moose heads?"

"No. Like people and these hourglass shaped things. There was this couple who had them on strings swinging and slinging them back and forth between them while they did some kind of ballet. It was beautiful."

"Sounds great."

"It really was."

"I tried to juggle once." He smiled at the image, at how easy it was again. "I broke a vase, a ceramic dog, and gave my little brother a concussion." They laughed over the sound of the door creaking. "So no more juggling for me."

"Oh, come on. Maybe you just need practice." He nudged her in the side and she giggled.

"No, I'd burn something down or kill myself. God, ick, no."

She was still laughing when Luke entered his eye line, "Hey," he enthused before processing the look on Luke's face.

"Hey, what should Maddie never do?"

"Juggling," she came back still being easy, friendly, the way the three of them had been years ago. "Never ever." But Noah was looking at Luke's face now and saw the tightness there he recognized and wondered if it was his family that had him so upset.

"We were just hanging out." Noah said testing the waters, watching Luke's face so he saw when it tightened again and turned to face him.

"I thought I'd walk home with you. If you wanted, after you closed up."

And the sharp edges in Luke's eyes seemed to drain all the fun from the room. All the joy he'd gleaned from just those minutes of hanging out with Maddie.

"Yeah," he said. "I just need to put up the chairs and lock up the cash drawer."

"Oh, I can help. I do this a lot in my manual labor job." She winked and grinned trying to infuse the rest of the night with the camaraderie from moments before.

"Oh, I can help Noah. We don't want to keep you."

"No trouble, really. The only thing you're keeping me from is listening to Henry whine over the ketchup somebody spilled on his insert-couture-men's-designer-here shirt. Really." Noah left her and Luke to turn up chairs while he took care of the business end of things and soon they were all standing on the other side of the door as he locked it.

"Night guys," Maddie called a minute later from the down the streets of Old Town.

Luke had his hands stuffed into the suit pants he was still wearing. A sure sign he'd been kept late at the office with Damian.

"Ready to go?" Noah asked and watched Luke nod as he headed off towards their apartment. Noah grabbed the back of his dress shirt and hauled him back against him. "Aren't you forgetting something?" When Luke just stewed Noah leaned his head against the back of Luke's. "She's having a hard time with the whole Casey-Ali thing. I guess it's hard for her to move on from her first love and I can sympathize." He felt Luke shift uncomfortably beside him. "I don't ever want to move on from mine. Even though he was a bit of a jerk to his friend Maddie tonight."

"I am a jerk." Luke said, hurt but confessing. Noah nodded against him, still holding him. He turned his lips into Luke's neck. Luke sighed then and moved away, pulled his hands from his pants, kissed Noah briefly and took his hand before starting to lazily walk home. "I'm sorry Maddie's upset."

"I don't think it's so much upset as it is frustrated that she isn't happier for Casey to have found someone who makes him happy."

"Must be hard."

"I think it would be easier if she wasn't still trying to be a good friend to him. If they hardly ever saw each other it wouldn't bother her so much."

"Why do you suppose she doesn't pull away a bit then? You know, only see him at the big stuff where they can't really not see each other."

"Maybe because she misses him."

"I'd miss you, Noah."

"I miss you, Luke."

Which stopped Luke in his tracks. "I'm right here," he said squeezing Noah's hand.

"I know. And that… That's good."

"It's the best," he said, the air moving against Noah's face before he brought their lips together.

"Noah," Luke grumbled. They'd only been to sleep a few hours before so his rustling around to get ready to work the morning news was not the way he wanted to be spending the here and now.

"Sorry, I'll be gone soon." The thought of which only made him groan deeper and reach around on the bed for a Noah appendage. "I meant to tell you last night but you distracted me," Noah smacked his ass and his eyes popped open.

"Huh, what?"

"Articulate, Snyder."

"Pre-dawn, Mayer."

Noah leaned down and kissed him. "I talked to Dusty yesterday. He came in for coffee. He's known and worked with Wendy Denby for a while, on and off. Says consulting." Noah sat on the bed to tie his shoes and Luke started to run a hand over his back, staring at the still moving lips on his lover's face. "He seemed to know a lot more about her, be friends even, but after a minute he told me that, if I had questions, to just ask her. She's staying at The Lakeview. And if you don't knock it off Luke I'm going to be so late and then fired and then a dependant housewife."

"I'd settle for sex slave," Luke said still running his hand over Noah's back until a quelling glare from Noah himself stopped him.

"Bye." Noah kissed him again and ran out before Luke had a chance to drag him bodily against him.

Leaving Luke awake, aroused, and alone to watch the sunrise—which isn't romantic without someone to watch it with.

Luke found himself more or less pacing in front of the door to the office conference room. While he wasn't comfortable with the pacing, with the anxiety of knowing that Giorgio and Vivian were in there battling something out with Damian, something that could possibly hold his life in the balance, he'd take it over being caught red-handed at the childhood indignity of having his ear pressed to the door.

He was an adult now. He'd left high school far behind and, while college hadn't exactly worked out, he had a professional job, he had an assistant—which he shared with Damian—he was old enough to vote, join the military, get married—not that the government would let him marry the person of his choice—buy porn, make porn, gamble, and before much longer he'd be able to buy his own alcohol. Not that he'd drink it. So such childish attempts at eavesdropping were behind him. He eyed the door and nibbled his thumbnail. Regrettably.

He groaned and dropped his hand and went back to his desk.

There wasn't a lot on it. Well, there was plenty on it—pictures of his family, friends, Noah, his laptop, office phone, in and out boxes—just no real work. Damian's desk however was piled with proposals and bids and all manner of interoffice paperwork. Luke took a stack of it—Damian wouldn't be out of his "meeting" with the new, significantly older if no less crazy, Grimaldi twins to do so anytime soon.

He started to page through a prospectus for a company Damian had been courting before the NuovoTwins had come to town. Damian was trying to convince the CEO to buy one of his yachts in the company name but, based on the company's details, the way their stock had taken to performing in the last quarter and the desperate spin job they had done in their prospectus, Luke felt like they were a bad idea. Sure, they might lay down the payments to start the ball rolling but if the company continued to circle the drain they'd never get the final payment. Re-spec-ing once they'd started for another client later was almost as costly as starting from scratch—one luxuriously rich tycoon rarely wanted the same things as another.

He gathered the rest of the information on Du-Rite Chem off Damian's desk, flipped through it cursorily, and stacked it all on one corner with a memo on top about his opinion on the situation and a suggestion that they file the info way for if, or when, Du-Rite picked back up and had a more solid financial future.

Damian walked in just as Luke was hauling up another pile of work from his desk to complete for him.

"Luciano, what are you doing?" His voice seemed suspicious, even annoyed.

"Just trying to get some Gimaldi Shipping work done while you're focusing on La Familia di Grimaldi work." Luke was a little annoyed himself as he pulled up to his desk again.

"Luke, I'm sorry. There's a lot on my desk that you won't know how to handle. Perhaps—"

"There is a lot I have left to learn Damian but there's a lot you do that I can get done while you are 'otherwise engaged.' That way what little time you can devote to the company can be spent on things that you have to do."

"I…. Thank you, Luciano. This is important. For all of us. I want to keep you as far out of it as I can. For your safety, for your mother's."

"Is she in danger?"

"No. I want it to stay that way." Damian sighed, rubbed his eyes, then looked from his desk to Luke's. "Just don't work too hard."

"Yeah," he said and watched Damian leave again, his shoulders tight, his gait tense.


End file.
